Switch-shifting device.



A. JOHNSON. SWITCH SHIFTING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1911.

1,009,149. Patented N0v.21, 1911.

WITNESSES.-

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ANDREW JOHNSON, OF MISSOULA, MONTANA.

SWITCH-SHIFTING- DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW J OHNSQN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Missoula, in the county of Missoula and State of Montana,have invented a new and useful Switch-Shifting Device, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Hy invention relates to improvements in switch-shifting devices of theclass which are used to shift the switch-tongue of the tracks ofstreetrailways and other railroads, and of that particular class which areoperated from the car while it is in motion and approaching the switch.

The object of the invention is to provide a practical, durable andeflicient device of said kind.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a top or plan view of a railwaytrack and switch and a portion of a car standing on the track, allequipped with my improved switch-shifting mechanism; the car has its.

roof removed and a portion of its floor broken away to expose themechanism mounted on the car. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation onthe line a -a Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front end elevation of the car andmechanism mounted on it in Fig. '1, and a section on the line 6-4) ofthe track in said view; the body of the car above the floor is omitted.Fig. 4 is an inverted or bottom view of a modification of the swivelingplate to which the operating levers are fulcrumed,

and said levers in section, as on the line c-c Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an endview of the movable end of the switch-tongue, or switchrail.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, the trackrails 1, 1,which are of the usual kind, connect in substantially the usual way withthe branch-rails or siding rails 2, and near the junction of one of therails 1 and one of the rails 2 is pivoted at 3 to the frog 3* aswitch-tongue 4, whose swinging end is provided with a truncatedarrowhead 5, which presents two oppositely inclined cam-faces 6, 6 andhas two parallel longitudinal grooves or gaps 7, 7 a in its upper side.Said head rests upon a supporting plate 8 and moves in a gap 9 in theadjacent rail 1, and in a gap 9 in the adjacent guard rail 11.

12 and 12 are two inclines on the plate 8 for purposes presently to bedescribed, said plate 8 may be made integral with the portion 3* and theguard-rails of the frog.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 5, 1911.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Serial No. 625,376.

11 are guards to prevent lateral springing of the switchshifting bars.11 is a guard rail and plate assisting in guiding the wheel passing saidguard on the main track.

The car 13 may be of any desired type, but to fully demonstrate thecharacter of my invention, the car is of the type having twofour-wheeled trucks 14, of which only one is shown in my drawing. Saidtruck swivels on a central stud, or bolt, 15 in the usual manner; and assuch swiveling or turning movement on lateral curves of the road causesthe truck to diverge more or less from a parallel position to the car,the switchshifting device is arranged as follows: Upon the forward endof the truck 14, near one corner thereof, is secured a journal orbearing block 16, in which are mounted to slide vertically twoswitch-shifting bars 17, 17. Each of said bars has its upper end reducedand inserted upwardly through a slot 19 in the horizontal arm 20 of anL-shaped lever 2021, and is retained in said slot by a pin 22 and awasher 23, while below the lever arm is a washer 24 resting upon theshoulder of the bar and keeping out of the slot the end of an expandingcoil spring 25, which encircles the bar and by being supported on thebearing 16 tends at all times to hold the lever arm and theswitch-shifting bar in raised and thereby idle position, and thehand-lever 21, which the upper arm of the lever forms, in a forwardposition. Said levers, 20-21, are fulcrumed at 26 to the depending lugs27 of a plate 28, which swivels underneath the car on a bolt 29, whichis secured into the floor 13 and in a plate 30 secured upon the saidfloor of the car. Said plate 30 is provided with two slots 31 in whichthe levers 21 move freely when the lower plate 28 is to tated. Saidlower plate needs no slots for the levers, as long as these are placedbeyond the ends of the plate, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3; but if. asin the modification in Fig. 4, the levers be placed at the inner sidesof the lugs 27, then slots 32 are necessary. In said Fig. 4 the bolt 26is passed through the lugs 27 and an intermediate tube 83, whose endshold the levers snugly against the lugs. WVhen the nut 34 is tightenedon the pivot bolt 26, the arrangement in Fig. 4 shown is verysubstantial and is probably preferable to the arrangement shown in theother views.

In the operation of the device, when the car is moving as from right toleft in Fig. l, and it approaches the switch, if the head 5 is in theposition shown in Fig. 1 and the operator, who stands as at 23 in thecar, wishes to change the car from the main track 1 to the side-track 2,he simply pulls rearwardly on the lever 21 farthest to the left of him;this causes the spring 25 to yield and the lower end of the bar 17descends low enough to act on the cam face 6 and thus throw the head 5with the gap 7 into line with the flange of the right hand side Wheel ofthe truck, and thus the car is switched over onto the side track. Assoon as the bar 17 has thus acted on the cam 6, it is forced upward bythe incline 12 of the frog, so that the operator can not accidentallyforget to lift it until it may get damaged by moving forward againstrails or parts of the frog. After the bar is thus out of danger, thespring 25 elevates it farther and holds it elevated until the handlever21 is next time operated. If the next car coming along wishes to followthe main track, the operator on such car pulls the right-hand lever 21in his car, and the bar 17 will descend, and acting on the cam 6 willrestore the switch-tongue to the position shown in Fig. 1, so that thegap 7 permits the wheels of the truck to follow the main track. Afterthe bar 17 has thus acted and performed its duty, it is elevated by theincline 12 of the frog and is held elevated by the spring 25 on it.

As already mentioned above, when the truck turns on its center stem 15,the slots 19 in the levers arms 20 allow the bars 17, 17 to slide in thelevers, and such sliding movement is essential to prevent injury to thelevers. Other means could be used for the same purpose, but I preferslotted levers as the most effective and substantial means for thepurpose.

What I claim is:

1. In a switch-shifting device of the character described, thecombination with a frog having a recess, of a switch-tongue having oneend pivoted in said recess and its other end provided with a truncatedarrow-head having in its upper side two longitudinal parallel gaps andat its sides oppositely inclined cam faces, a main rail and a side railadjacent the frog, a car and means carried by the car for engagingeither one of the cam faces while the car is in motion, and therebyshift the head of the switch-tongue so as to bring the one of its gapsin position to permit the car wheel to follow the main track, or theother gap to permit the wheels to pass onto the side track while theswitchtongue prevents further progress on the main track.

2. In a switch-shifting device of the character described, thecombination with a frog, a switch-tongue pivoted at one end thereto andhaving at the other end a truncated arrow-head formed in its top withtwo parallel longitudinal gaps and having two op positely diverging camfaces, a main rail and a siding rail adjacent thereto, and means carriedby a car moving on the rails for engaging the cam-faces and shifting thehead from one side to the other, as may be desired by a person riding onthe car while the latter is in motion; said means on the car consistingof bearings on the front end of the truck of the car, twoswitch-shifting bars sliding vertically in the bearings, 21 horizontallyswiveling plate carried by the platform or floor of the car and havingtwo vertical lugs, an L-shaped lever fulcrumed to each lug and havingone arm extended upwardly through an aperture in the floor of the car,to serve as a hand-lever within the car, the other arm extendingrearwardly below the floor of the car, and having a longitudinal slot inwhich a reduced portion near the upper end of one of the switch shiftingbars is held in such a manner that it may slide along the slot but cannot escape up or down through it, and a spring arranged to hold eachlever with the shifter bar in elevated position some distance above therails.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW JOHNSON. lVitnesses H. D. FISHER, A. ENGBRETSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

